(IN) Worshipping Elephants!

[Guest guest]

Special things only on special days huh?

Most of us remember feeding cows on some occasion or a religious day because

some great `Panditji' has asked us to do so for our well-being. But he did not

ask to take care of it when it has got hurt or is scouring littered garbage for

food! Perhaps it's not mentioned in the scriptures huh?

So the case with these elephants. They would be fed with sumptuous food and

worshipped but what happens when the festival gets over? Are they still taken

care of the same way? How much of the monetary contribution goes into the

welfare of these jumbos??? The Prayer service can't consume the entire 5 lacs

in one go!

Moreover with 10,ooo ppl jostling with each other (most of them wid certain

contagious lung diseases) is it hygienic for the elephants?? And do you think

elephants would enjoy being decked up and paraded amidst crowds in heat and

making them sit on woollen carpets? They might as well make them sit on stools!

I wish jumbos could answer that!

 

http://blog.taragana.com/n/special-diet-prayers-for-elephants-in-kerala-112636/

 

Special diet, Prayers for Elephants

IANS, July 17th 2009

 

THRISSUR - Elephants are surely being pampered in Kerala. While nearly 65 of

them will go for a month long rejuvenation programme at the Guruvayoor temple,

Thrissur town Friday had a special prayer for the elephants attended by

thousands of devotees.

The Vadukunathan temple here had a special prayer Friday for 46 elephants. This

prayer, attended by nearly 10,000 devotees, is done once in four years. Thrissur

is over 300 km from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

M.G. Jagadeesh, the temple manager, said: " `Gaja pooja' (elephant prayers) is

basically a special session of prayers for the well being of the elephants.

" The pooja is done by the `tantris' (priests) and five elephants are lined up at

a time and are asked to squat on a specially laid down woollen carpets. The

prayer ends in about five minutes and the next set of elephants are lined up, "

Jagadeesh told IANS.

The temple invites contributions from the devotees to cover the expenses for the

prayers.

" The total expense for this came to around Rs.5 lakh. After the pooja all the

elephants are treated to a sumptuous meal which includes 5 kg of rice, pineapple

and other items, " said Jagadeesh.

Meanwhile, in the famed Guruvayoor Temple, around 30 km from here, nearly 65

elephants will go for a month long rejuvenation programme.

Thottathil Ravindran, president of the Guruvayoor temple board, told IANS that

the programme began Friday. The temple has 65 captive elephants.

The elephants will be treated to a host of nutritious food items including

pulses, jaggery, sugarcane and others.

" For the next one month, all our elephants will be on a special diet and on

various treatment protocols to see that they remain healthy for the next one

year, " said Ravindran.

According to the forest department, there are around 900 captive elephants in

Kerala.